Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Multi-Grain Boule

Have you ever been so in awe by the beauty of something you've baked that you're hesitant to eat it because you'd rather display it as a work of art on your coffee table or fireplace mantle?

That's how I felt about this bread. If your breath is not taken away by the sight of a perfectly baked loaf of bread then of course you have no idea what I'm talking about, but there's just something about having something homemade turn out so perfectly that I temporarily committed one of those seven deadly sins: PRIDE. I quickly repented however, because I was hungry, and cut into my masterpiece to make certain that it was as perfect on the inside as it was on the outside. And it was. This hearty multi-grain bread is filled with healthy goodness and is perfect for sandwiches or served alongside a steaming bowl of soup or stew.

In bowl of standup mixer place the harvest grains blend and pour the boiling water over it. Let cool to lukewarm and then add the sourdough starter and the remaining dough ingredients. Using dough hook, mix and knead until you've made a soft dough, 8-10 minutes, adding additional flour or water if needed. (I had to add a couple of tablespoons of additional water.) Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and transfer dough to bowl, rolling dough to cover all sides of the dough ball with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until it's almost doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Prepare a banneton by dusting heavily with flour or line a large mixing bowl with a linen towel and dust heavily with flour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface and gently fold it a few times to deflate it. Shape it into a large round. Place the round upside down into prepared banneton or bowl and loosely cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise until it's very puffy, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray paper with cooking spray and dust lightly with corn meal. Gently turn the dough over onto the baking sheet. Spray with water and sprinkle dough with seeds. Using a lame or a very sharp knife, make four slashes across the top of the loaf, in a cross hatch pattern.

Bake the bread in preheated oven for 38-45 minutes until loaf is golden brown and instant-read thermometer registers 190 degrees. I rotated my loaf half way through the baking cycle and tented it with foil for the last 10 minutes to prevent over-browning.

Remove bread from oven and transfer loaf to cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. While bread is cooling, feel free to display it on your coffee table or fireplace mantle.

That is breath-taking! That happens to me when I make a particulary beautiful cake or dinner.. I sometimes can't bear the thought of cutting into it, but then I realize how amazing it's going to taste and dive in!

I really want to get that everything bagel topping... as soon as I have the time to try to make bagels!

Geez Mags, gorgeous bread, absolutely gorgeous! Left an earlier comment but it must have ended up in cyberspace somewhere - anyway, what I said was I'd love some of that bread, and a little wine ...ok a lot of wine along with a chunk of WSU Cougar cheese. Have you ordered yet?

Home made bread is my favorite food in the world and this looks so very wonderful. Beautiful, a perfect texture, wonderful ingredients, and sourdough to top it all off. Many thanks for this great recipe.

yperaged4511This is wonderful! I too am on the other side of fifty. Would you like to join in on my Bake and Break Bread Together Day this weekend? If so check out my blog: www.bigsurwriter.comThanks for sharing your recipes. I will post a link to your blog. Belinda

About Me

This is my documentation of my life after turning 50. Lots of recipes, some healthy, some not so much... tossed up with a hefty dose of sarcasm and motherly love.
My email address: maggielauerrdh(at)yahoo.com